


Happiness

by FeatherQuilt88



Series: The Amber Dragon Anthology [33]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Adopted Children, Birthday, Birthday Party, Cake, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Dreams, Extended Families, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fire Lord Zuko, Food, Gen, Grandpa Iroh, Happy, Happy Ending, Happy Family, IROH LOVES ALL HIS BABIES SO MUCH AND THEY LOVE HIM SO MUCH TOO, Iroh is very old in this one but he's nowhere near dying I promise guys, Joyful, Leaves from the vine, Music, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Kissing, Post-Canon, Puppy Piles, Soft Zuko (Avatar), Songs, Spirits, Tea, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, little soldier boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-23 00:49:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21311389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeatherQuilt88/pseuds/FeatherQuilt88
Summary: A venerable Iroh has a very happy birthday, surrounded by all of his beloved children and grandchildren.
Relationships: Iroh & Jin (Avatar), Iroh & Lu Ten (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar) & Original Character(s)
Series: The Amber Dragon Anthology [33]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988473
Comments: 19
Kudos: 77





	Happiness

**Author's Note:**

> This is the chronological "endpiece" ficlet for "Tales from the Amber Dragon," so you will always find it at the end of the list here (though it certainly isn't the last ficlet I'm planning on posting--at this time, November 2019, I still have a ton of prompts left)!
> 
> Reading at least a few of my other "Amber Dragon" ficlets is recommended to get the "full weight" of this end ficlet. But if you don't have time, what you basically need to know is (1) Iroh and Zuko consider each other father and son, and have for many years now. (2) My fancharacter Chiko is Iroh's adoptive daughter [and Zuko's adoptive sister likewise], whom he found stowed away in a barrel of plums. (3) Zuko is married to Jin, and they have two children, my fancharacters Kiwa and Yuji. (4) The whole family lives together in the Fire Nation Capital, Iroh and Chiko residing in Iroh's "Amber Dragon" teashop, in the city's "Earthtown" neighborhood section. (5) Lu-Ten's spirit often watches over Iroh, and let Iroh know that a sunbeam hitting his face was a "kiss" from him.

Iroh is laughing in a field of flowers, chasing Lu-Ten.

_He is dreaming, but he doesn't care._

A butterfly-mouse watches the father and son, as they tumble in the golden blossoms. Iroh is very old now, and Lu-Ten is a young man in his twenties, as he usually stays in these visions. In the daytime world, many would stare at two grown princes carrying on so. But play has no age, here in the land of dreams. (Not that it has much of an age in Iroh's waking moments, for that matter! Though he can't often run so freely, now, outside of his mind.)

_The dreams have never stopped. After all these decades, Lu-Ten STILL comes to comfort his father in little subconscious moments like this, once or twice a year. And Iroh knows the boy is always watching over him in spirit, day by day. He has never stopped loving his precious Lu-Ten. And he never will._

_Iroh has three children, and he loves them all the same._

Lu-Ten laughs as well, he and his father flopping into the grass side by side--just as they so often did in life, when he was a little boy. He notices a marigold-dandelion bloom standing between his and Iroh's faces, mature and ripe with puffs. The elder prince beams warmly at his son, and the younger grins from one bushy black sideburn to the next.

"Happy birthday, Dad," Lu-Ten whispers, and blows on the flower, to send its fluffy white seeds spinning into Iroh's fluffy white whiskers. His boy's sweetly-smiling face is the last thing Iroh sees through the blossoms, as the laughter (and a bit of gagging, from getting fuzz in his mouth) wakes him up.

Iroh lays there in bed, feeling many emotions--a few of them sad, but most of them happy. He reaches for his night-journal, to record this dream, just as he has every precious one before it. Then, finally, after a contented yawn or two, the old dragon gets up, to dress himself.

It's his ninetieth birthday, and he wants to look nice. He puts on a comfortable but finely-embroidered robe, and hums softly as he starts to brush his hair.

_It was a sad day, a couple of years ago, when Iroh's hairline finally receded too far back to hold a topknot. He was a bit sulky about that, for a few days--but he soon got over it, and then was just as jolly as ever. He has compensated, now, by wearing his remaining hair and beard extra-long. They are both silky and white, and reach all the way to his belt, and he is rather proud of them._

_And a few extra wrinkles may have sprouted in the corners of his eyes, but his cheeks are still round and full. As is, of course, his well-fed tummy._

Suddenly, Iroh feels a pair of arms slip around that tummy. "Happy birthday, Bapa," Chiko whispers, grinning and kissing the back of his head. She had started kissing the topknot-less spot to cheer him up--now she does so nearly every morning, just because it makes them both happy.

Iroh chuckles softly, reaching up to pet her cheek. "Who's that little stowaway I feel sneaking up on me?" he teases.

_He can still remember the day, so many years ago, when he had lifted six-year-old Chiko out of a barrel of plums, onboard his and Zuko's homebound ship. Now she is thirty-one, and is the only one of his babies who has managed to stay shorter than him, just slightly. She can still tuck her chin easily over his head right now, though, while he is sitting at his dresser._

_Iroh smiles, as he notices his favorite old hairband in his adoptive daughter's topknot now. He split his collection evenly, between all of his living children and grandchildren._

"Is _somebody_ hungry?" Chiko teases sweetly, right back at him. She gives his big belly an affectionate tickle.

"And _thirsty!_" Iroh winks. "I wonder what delicious teas we've got waiting for us in the kitchen?"

"Maybe one type for every year!!" Chiko waves her hands enthusiastically. She sounds almost like she did as a child, whenever they would tell each other bedtime stories about great seas of tea, and mochi and cookie islands, inhabited by the happiest (and fattest) of little plant- and rabbit-spirits. (Not that she and her adoptive father don't _still_ occasionally tell these cute stories, to each other and to the neighborhood children!)

"Oh _goodness!_ Even _I_ couldn't possibly sample _that_ many cups in one sitting!" Iroh tosses his head back in a self-depreciative laugh. He gives Chiko his arm, and they walk companionably into the Amber Dragon hallway.

_Zuko had always planned on getting married and raising a family, and Iroh supported him wholeheartedly. Chiko had never wanted to get married and leave home, and Iroh supported her wholeheartedly too. He has always wanted whatever would make his children happy, for their own lives. He and his daughter have spent many years together, now, keeping up the teashop and spoiling each other, and Zuko and their beloved extended family through him._

_Chiko has also achieved her dream of becoming a master calligrapher. She has her own writing workshop room in the Amber Dragon now, and its little sign outside advertises scrolls, certificates, and framed poems, as well as tea. The minor princess regularly gets as many commissions from "Big Ko's" court as she does from the humbler neighborhood, and Iroh couldn't be more proud of her._

Sometimes she catches him, now, when he stumbles. Iroh takes things easier than ever before, and his employees have begun to do most of the actual work in the teashop. But he still makes a point of cleaning up the house, and continuing to brew and serve at least two or three pots himself each day (not counting the ones he always boils for himself and Chiko, of course), to keep himself active.

_It appears that the venerable Fire prince may indeed be destined to live as long as King Bumi. Iroh may be a bit slower of feet, and shakier of grip, but he is still spry and healthy--for which his family is very grateful._

In the kitchen, Jin and Yuji are busy making cakes. Royalty or not, they enjoy the occasional pleasure of baking, too.

"Awww, are you up, Papa Mushi?" the Fire Lady grins, as she notices Iroh and Chiko appearing at the doorframe. She is taking a big tray of ginger cakes out of the oven, and they smell _delicious!_

_Jin still wears those same old pigtails under her royal topknot, but she has just a few streaks of gray in them, now. She and Zuko are both in their mid-forties. And they love both each other, and the rest of the family, with as much passion as ever._

_Iroh has long considered Jin an honorary daughter, too. And their optimistic natures have made them two of a kind--the Fire Lady and the Dragon of the West are the very best of friends._

Yuji is piping icing onto another batch of the treats, already cooling. He stops for a moment, to run up and kiss Iroh on the forehead, just as his "Auntie Chiko" did earlier. "Happy birthday, Grampa!"

_Though the youngest of the family, at eighteen, Yuji is now the tallest of them all. The rather lanky boy is wearing his brown tangles in another of Iroh's old hairbands, this morning. He also happens to be the first member of the royal family who has had to wear spectacles._

Iroh chuckles fondly as those spectacles slip down Yuji's nose a bit. He pushes them back into place with one finger, almost maternally (booping his grandson's nose as he does so).

Yuji grins hugely. "You want to try one?" he then holds a beautifully-iced cake out to Iroh, even though he knows they should probably wait until the noodle soup is ready for breakfast.

"Ooooh, I can almost taste it already--" Iroh licks his lips and reaches for the treat, only to be stopped by a voice calling from the living room.

"Are you telling me our birthday boy is going to have a piece of cake, before he even sits down to his first cup of tea for the day?!"

Zuko's scratchy voice is unmistakable, and actually hasn't changed much over the years. The Fire Lord peeks through the doorframe, beaming. There are two steaming pots of ginseng and jasmine behind him, on the serving table.

_Zuko has recently sprouted a few strands of gray as well, in his handsome black hair. Including in his beard, which he has spent some time growing, over the past decade or so. It is cut very much like Iroh's, albiet a bit shorter._

Iroh may normally be slow on his feet now, but somehow, in this moment, he manages to _run_ to his adoptive son's side. "Ohhh, _Zuko..._" he's almost ready to embrace the child, the child who has brought him so much. Words cannot even adequately describe Iroh's pride, gratitude, and yes, _admiration_ for his second child, his Fire Lord.

Zuko would be ready for the hug too, but he has to get rid of these cups of tea in his hands first. A flash of pure impishness finds its way into his grin, now. "Here you go! I made the hot leaf juice, Dad."

Iroh's mock-indignant voice rumbles out nearly the same as it did all those years before, in Pao's teashop. But with one beautiful difference. "How could _my own son_ say something _so horrible?!!_"

Zuko has set their two teacups down, and he and Iroh are immediately growling and laughing and squeezing each other tight, like a pair of affectionate platypus-bears.

The whole family sits down to Iroh's birthday breakfast, once he and Zuko have finished their bear-hugging and back-rubbing, and finally picked up their teacups again. The ginseng and jasmine are both _perfect_ (Iroh is so proud of Zuko), and the noodles and the cakes may be the most delectable Iroh has ever tasted. It may sound silly or sentimental, but still--it seems to the elderly prince, in that moment, that every little onion in the noodle soup is the savoriest that's ever been grown, and every little raisin in the cakes is the juiciest.

As if that wasn't enough, once the delicious meal is over, and Iroh is settling back with a warm, full belly, Kiwa starts to sing.

_The crown princess is twenty-two, now, and was married last year. Her husband has kindly agreed to watch over the royal appointments this morning, so the family can have their celebration together, but he probably will drop in later this afternoon as well. He is a part of the family too, now, after all! (And it probably won't be TOO long before he and Kiwa will be telling Iroh they're going to have his first great-grandchild!)_

_Kiwa has grown into a beautiful young lady, in a plump and compact sort of way--she is built almost like Iroh's beloved mother, Ilah, was. Though it will still be another decade or so before Zuko retires, and gives the crown over to his daughter, he and Jin have been including Kiwa in most of their royal decisions lately, to train her. Just as they have also been very careful to include Yuji in many things, and train HIM to be the Fire Nation's premier ambassador to the Earth Kingdom. The whole family has considered it paramount to make Yuji and Kiwa feel equally-wanted, and to impress upon them that rulership is merely a job and a duty, not a measure of love or worth._

Kiwa is as skilled with the lyre as Chiko is with the calligraphy-brush, and soon everyone is singing along with her plucked melodies. She lets Iroh pick most of the tunes, since it _is_ his birthday, after all.

They sing of so many memories--old-fashioned ditties Iroh knew from his childhood, happy things he sung for Lu-Ten and Zuko and Chiko during theirs, and even a few more modern songs, heard around them in the Earthtown now.

Kiwa is almost startled when, for the last song of morning, Iroh requests "Little Soldier Boy."

"Are you sure, Grampa?" she asks him, her golden eyes softening tenderly. She, like all the rest of the family, knows the significance of this song.

Iroh nods, smiling with equal tenderness. He sings every word, richly and fully, and his gruff old voice only breaks once. The tears are mostly happy ones, now, just as his emotions were earlier in his bed. The song may speak of leaves drifting from a vine, but this morning, Iroh sees marigold-dandelion puffs swirling instead, in his mind's eye.

Then, after a few moments of silence, and a few more sips of tea, Chiko decides it's time for the cuddling to start. She bounds into Iroh's lap, just as she did so often as a child. If she hunkers over, she can still fit her head under his whiskered chin. "I love you, Bapa," she whispers, hugging him tight.

"Ohhhh... I love you _too!_" Iroh almost melts in a chuckle, and does all the more so as Kiwa enfolds them both on one side, grinning. Zuko takes the other side, leaning in close, and nearly tickling Iroh's nose with his own black whiskers.

Yuji and Jin are not about to be left out either. The young prince grins and wraps himself around Iroh's shoulder in the back, and his spectacles go askew again, he smooshes his cheek so close against his grandfather's. Jin squeezes herself likewise behind the other shoulder, kissing Iroh's ear.

A beam of sunlight suddenly filters through the nearby window, and the old man _basks_ in it. When he closes his eyes, he can actually _feel_ Lu-Ten's lips upon his bald crown. The tears trickle fast and free, now, as he knows that _all_ of his children are here with him, in this beautiful moment.

Iroh has now been rendered practically immobile, hemmed in on every side by his babies. He laughs joyously, helplessly. "I, I need more arms!" he cries, almost apologetically. His old hands flutter, as he tries to at least reach up and pet everyone on the cheek in turn.

"_Awwww,_ it's okay, Dad," Zuko chuckles lovingly, squeezing Iroh tighter to reassure him. "We'll hold _you!_"

Iroh gives in, relaxing in his family members' arms. He smiles from ear to ear. _This is the happiest feeling in the whole world._


End file.
